New York sources stated that the minister of state for foreign affairs, Mohammed Shahriar Alam, said that Bangladesh was paying the entire roughly USD 280 million to build homes and fortify the muddy island in the Bay of Bengal from cyclones, and that it was mulling a formal request for international funds.
Meanwhile a State Minister said no refugees who fled a military crackdown in Myanmar would be moved there against their will. He added some 700,000 Rohingya Muslims crossed the border from Myanmar’s Rakhine state since August, and are in cramped camps at Cox’s Bazar. Because a repatriation deal between the neighboring countries has been delayed, Bangladesh aims to prepare new homes on the nearby island, called Bhasan Char, before the onset of seasonal monsoon rains that could come in late April.
Moreover he brushed off as “misunderstandings”, concerns rose by
humanitarian groups such as Amnesty International that the silt island was
vulnerable to flooding. He added “Some people raised concerns about Bhasan Char
(but) there is absolutely no reason to be concerned because we are building an
embankment".
